Our Time at the Old Baraboo Inn (Celebration of Life)
This blog post was written by Whitney Dankemeyer.
Four score and another 79 years before that, a tavern and brothel opened up on Fourth Street in Baraboo, Wisconsin. This 159-year-old establishment was purchased by German immigrants George and Anna Bender, who had a single vision to run a brewery and boarding house. Bender operated a successful business with the bar and restaurant downstairs and the brothel on the second floor. They even went as far as having a separate playroom for the children when their mothers were working upstairs. Church services for the women and children were provided on Sundays.
After George’s death in 1874, Anna and her son Robert converted their name from Miller-Bender Brewery to the Bender House. The Bender House successfully ran until an unexplained fire occurred in 1884. In 1890, another one of the Bender sons, Frank, decided to manage the family business. For awhile it remained the Bender House, but it became the August Reineke Saloon in 1908. From there, business stayed open until 1920 when the prohibition era began. Bender sons Arthur and Leroy took ownership of the building but were forced to close for a year in 1929 after a raid. Prohibition lasted until 1933.
From bar, to brothel, to boarding house, to saloon, this was home to many drinkers, outlaws, and cowboys. In 1879, the deluxe Chicago and Northwestern Railroad train depot opened across the street. This made the Bender House an attraction for mobsters who were on the run and passing through the area. During this time period, mobsters would ask tavern owners to grant them access to run their Speak-Easy from inside the building. However, this wasn’t really asking. Most owners weren’t given an option to say no to the mob. If they denied mobsters access, most (if not all) business owners were killed. The Bender House and Slippery Noodle Inn in Indianapolis, Indiana are two of the few bars that granted mobsters access during Prohibition.
One of the rumored mobsters to hang out at this location was the famous Al Capone himself. There are no records or reports confirming his presence in Baraboo, Wisconsin, but there is an execution pole in the basement to show us that someone had been in charge. When Speak-Easy rules were broken, individuals were tied to this pole, beaten, tortured, and then murdered. There are still stains and bullet holes on the pole present day to remind visitors of this building’s dark and eerie past.
In 1962, well after the prohibition ended, John and Rose Dombrowski purchased the property. In 1964, the name was changed from the Strikeout Club to the Old Baraboo Inn. Their business was deemed successful until tragedy struck in 1979. John Dombrowski passed away, leaving his son Jack to run the business for his mother Rose. In 1989, tragedy struck again. Another fire broke out on this lot and devastated both the business and the structure of the building. The last one out of the bar before the fire that night was frequent visitor, BC Farr. He watched the building sit abandoned for nearly 10 years before he took matters into his own hands.
In 1998, BC purchased the property and immediately started renovating the Old Baraboo Inn. In 2002, the city of Baraboo welcomed a big, red house on the now corner of Walnut and Lynn street. BC was now captain of the ship at Old Baraboo Inn, and he couldn’t wait to share his treasure with the rest of the community.
From the minute renovations started, BC knew the building was haunted. Lights would turn on by themselves, alarms would sound in the middle of the night, bar stools moved on their own, and chatter amongst spirits could be heard throughout the restaurant. BC kept this a secret for the longest time because he feared it would scare customers away. Little did he know, this would start bringing more customers IN.
There are over 30 spirits known to haunt the Old Baraboo Inn, and that includes Al Capone, a prostitute named Mary, a lady in white who goes by Cybil, and a cowboy named Jed. Many of these spirits have either passed away in the building or had a special connection with it. What most people aren’t aware of though is that there is also a vortex in the brothel upstairs. Two mirrors face each other, creating a spiritual freeway for spirits to pass through. Could this contribute to the spirit count being so high? Absolutely. Just like present visitors of the Old Baraboo Inn, there are spirits coming through the mirrors for a visit too.
Our paranormal group stumbled into the Old Baraboo Inn for the first time in October 2022. It was a random Sunday afternoon, and we hadn’t the slightest idea what to expect for an experience. This spontaneous adventure ended up being more than we could’ve imagined it to be when BC welcomed us into his home away from home. We were given a tour, but our little visit quickly turned into an investigation with BC’s sister, Shelly, who coordinated all the events at OBI. She drove all the way to us just to give our group the full experience. The two of them made us feel like home and so did the spirits when we waltzed in on their day off. We were even welcomed back for an overnight investigation in the brothel upstairs.
During our first visit, we captured a picture of Jed, the cowboy; a live photo of Cybil, the lady in white; and established a friendship with Mary, the prostitute who is best contacted in one of the bedrooms upstairs. For our overnight stay, we connected with the dark energies in the basement, confronted a shadow man in the children’s room upstairs, found two children trapped in the bedroom upstairs by the dark man, and furthered our relationship with Mary (Emotionally; get your mind out of the gutter!). Our newfound relationship with the Old Baraboo Inn was only continuing to grow stronger, so you can only imagine the loss we felt when we discovered BC’s passing in February 2023.
Following his death, Shelly invited us to a celebration of life event for BC that took place on June 24, 2023. This fundraising event went on from 1:00 PM to 11:30 PM with raffles, ghost hunts, Tarot readings, and drink specials. This was in honor of BC’s 60th birthday and 20th anniversary of reopening OBI. We initially paid for the afternoon ghost hunting sessions, but we missed them by the time we arrived. We didn’t stress when this came up though, and that’s because we always trust the Universe has more in store for us… and it did.
Matt recognized Nicole from our group the second we walked through the doors that day. It only took him a few seconds to register who we all were, and when he did, he welcomed us back with open arms. He gave us a rundown of the event and wanted us to settle in and get comfortable. He also said to make sure we introduced ourselves to the guests that showed because some of them almost didn’t make it.
We sat our belongings on the table next to Matt’s, and that was when we noticed Shelly walking into the room. We were ecstatic to see each other, and she also ensured we helped ourselves to drinks and cake. (The hospitality here, am I right?) During our brief visit with Shelly, we gifted her two framed photos of all of us with BC the day of our first investigation. We shared a couple tears, a couple laughs, and then she was on her way to say hello to other guests.
We meandered over to the table where cake was being served in remembrance of BC. They had paranormal equipment and his personal belongings sitting on the same table, just in case BC wanted to say hi. Shelly had told us earlier BC was very active on the rempod, but we didn’t capture any evidence of his presence in the time that we stood there.
Once Swan was finished eating her slice of cake, we walked back over to Matt to continue our conversation. Matt, however, had other plans in mind. He walked us over to Scotty Rorek, a psychic medium and best friend of BC’s. When Matt said one of the guests almost didn’t make it, he didn’t mean just a change of plans. It turns out Scotty had a stroke a week prior to the event, and while he was unconscious, BC came to him and said it wasn’t his time. Within a matter of days, Scotty was in better shape and cleared to make the trip to Baraboo.
When our conversation with Scotty was over, Matt walked us up to the bar and introduced us to one of the bartenders, Ali, for drinks. While we were being served, Shelly also came up to the bar and confirmed that we missed our afternoon sessions. She had thought we were no-shows but said not to worry and stay for the guest stars’ speeches at the beginning of the evening ghost hunt. In the meantime, she encouraged us to purchase raffle tickets so we could potentially win the investigation in the brothel.
The girls and I scurried over to the raffle set up and purchased a wingspan of tickets for $20. I hadn’t even gotten a chance to pull them apart before Matt took us aside to introduce us to another guest. We were introduced to Aaron G. Thompson, a long-term paranormal investigator who was featured on Netflix’s 28-Days Haunted. His partner Nick Simons had just stepped outside before we could meet him, so we continued our conversation with Aaron.
Aaron has been investigating the paranormal and collecting data since 1999. He not only shared his beliefs in consciousness and science with us, but he also shared his experience on 28-Days Haunted with Nick and psychic medium Sean Austin. We discussed scenes production cut in the show, how he had no concept of the day or time, and how his spiritual hangover lasted 6-8 months after filming. To put this into perspective for you readers, when the girls and I investigate, our spiritual hangovers last 1-2 days after an investigation. We can’t even fathom having a six-month spiritual hangover and going on with everyday life feeling the way Aaron did.
There were a few other things Aaron discussed with us, and one of those things was using paranormal equipment. You heard it here folks, we got Aaron’s confirmation that paranormal applications on phones are just as credible as the hand-held device. He even recommended three paranormal apps that he has worked with and likes best. The other topics we touched based on were how long the girls and I have been investigating and a paranormal story Aaron shared from Kansas City, where a spirit wanted him to investigate alone.
This was about the time Nick walked into the building and walked up behind Swan. We included him in our chat by introducing ourselves and asking how he and Aaron met. Nick said his wife worked with Aaron in a call center and introduced them in 2009. He said his wife told Aaron if he wanted to take anybody on an investigation, to take Nick, who’s a skeptic. They’ve been working together ever since.
At the end of our discussion with the guys, we were able to grab a photo together but were interrupted by the announcement for raffle drawings. There was only one problem with this: the raffle tickets we purchased were still in my hand. I rushed to the table and threw a small handful of tickets into one cup before ripping off the rest and tossing them into the remaining cups. I ran back to the group and the numbers started to be called.
Through a series of raffle winners, we finally arrived at the last cup. The raffle was for a three-hour investigation in the brothel upstairs with a quantity of four. We had the wingspan of tickets stretched out between the three of us and scanned our numbers. The anticipation started to build, so Swan whispered, “Come on, BC,” just before the numbers were called out. When the numbers were read, it matched the final ticket in our wingspan. We had won the brothel investigation, and we know BC had everything to do with it.
After the raffle winners were all picked, Swan, Nicole, and I dove back into our discussion with Nick and Aaron. We were able to show them some of our photographic evidence from our OBI investigations, some being live, some not. They were most impressed with the live photo we captured of the lady in white coming around the corner by the bathrooms. That was one piece of evidence we have never been able to debunk.
We didn’t want to keep the guys from all the other guests who came to show their support, so we decided to take another lap inside the building. On our way back to the bar, we noticed Shelly had placed our framed photos with BC next to the other photo boards. It made us not only feel special, but it really made us feel like a part of the OBI family.
We walked back over to the cake table to see if we could make contact with BC again, but when we got there, we noticed the rempod was gone. Matt was over by these tables though, so he started sharing stories with us about the CD collection going up the wall. He also talked about his karaoke days where he would sing the song “Wild Thing.” In that same moment, the woman seated at the table next to us played him that very song over her portable speaker. Matt only got halfway through the song before the radio cut off. We joked about BC telling him to stop singing.
Swan noticed very quickly that the woman who played the song for Matt was holding an Ovilus V. This is the latest model of the Ovilus equipment. She asked if she could hold it, and the woman was all for it. Shortly after, her partner came up and they teased about what they had to go through to get it. We were also unaware of this while we were there, but these girls later reached out to us and introduced themselves as Angela and Michelle, otherwise known as Clear Sight Paranormal. They are paranormal investigators from the Manitowoc area with astounding equipment. We unfortunately didn’t get to talk about investigations when we met them, but they were so kind to show us the Ovilus V and all its features while we were at the table. They even let us talk to BC on it. He said “Little, Strength, and Wish” when Shelly came near us.
We decided to take a quick break from the celebratory event and step outside to take it all in. We noticed a ghostbusters van parked alongside the curb that said “Ecto22” immediately when we walked out the door. First, we fangirled over it. Then we happened to notice the business cards on the side of the van. When we grabbed one out, it said “Psychics Unite” and had Scotty’s information listed on it. That was when Scotty also came outside.
The first thing we said to Scotty was how much we loved his van. He shared that his family customized the entire van together during the pandemic, and then he walked us over to the driver’s side to show us the interior. Not only did he have ghostbuster seat covers, but he even had green interior lights that glow in the night. We got to see his ghostbuster apparel, ghostbuster costumes, and a very special, custom made ghostbusters rem pod. This rem pod was made to look like the Ectomobile, and when a spirit comes in contact with it, it plays the ghostbusters theme song. Aaron was also outside speaking with a guest when Scotty brought the rem pod out, so we made sure to call everybody over to get a glimpse at it.
When Aaron ran back inside to get his pizza, we directed our conversation with Scotty to being psychic. Swan had asked him how long he’s known he had abilities, and he said since he was younger. He then shared a two-day experience he had with the herb Ayahuasca, where he had a full out of body experience, ego death, and established a connection with Mother Ayahuasca. He told us this was difficult but yet one of the best experiences of his life. He was taught the importance of love, embodying it, and lives his life sharing it. Scotty also mentioned having a strong, spiritual connection with the number 22, having a spirit guide named Steve, and a spirit animal grizzly bear named Grizz. When he told him to say hi to Steve for us, he smiled and said, “Steve loves you guys.”
We walked back inside after a while to refill our drinks. Matt was at the bar with a woman named Becky, whom we were introduced to. Becky told us BC felt like a brother and that it was also her birthday, so we made sure to wish her a happy solar return. When Nicole was buying a famous ghost bomb shot from the bartender Mike (long-term paranormal investigator with We Are Paranormal), Becky told us she would never have one. When we asked her why, she said it was because she told BC her first ghost bomb shot would be served by him. Now that he’s gone, she made a promise to herself to never drink one. This was also when we discovered BC was the only one who knew the recipe. Apparently after he passed, they had to have regulars taste test their drinks in attempts to recreate his special ghost bombs. After many failed attempts and a few tipsy customers later, they finally figured it out.
We hung around the bar for a while longer because we were enjoying the company surrounding us. We shared a memory from our first OBI experience with Matt and Becky, telling them that BC brought out his famous homemade pickles for us to try. Becky actually got up, went into the back, and brought a jar of BC’s pickles up to the bar. She opened up the jar and let us eat some of them. Shortly thereafter, Mike made us some firework shots to chase the pickles down with. After this series of events was over, it really started to feel like we were just hanging out and drinking with friends.
There were a few things we did before the guest speeches began, and the first was that I wandered over to the photo board table to purchase a book from BC’s girlfriend. The book was titled “Where the Party Never Ended: Ghosts of the Old Baraboo Inn” and was written by Amelia Cotter. After this, we grabbed Nicole’s film camera and started asking people for photos. And by photos, I mean disposable camera FILM photos.
Film photos are a very special part of every investigation we go on, but it’s not just because they may sometimes capture what we can’t see with the naked eye; it’s also because there’s a real nostalgia to it. It not only takes you back to a different time, but it’s also a good icebreaker for conversations. If we had a dollar for every time someone said, “I can’t remember the last time I’ve done this,” when winding the film camera up for the next photo, we’d be rolling in the money by now.
The reactions we got when taking film photos was really amusing. Becky and BC’s girlfriend originally thought we wanted them to take a photo of us instead of being in a photo altogether; when we went to take a film photo with Matt and Nick, Nick said we would be really disappointed when we found out about camera phones; and when we asked Aaron for a photo, he had just been talking to others about how he first started investigating with film cameras. (See, icebreaker.)
This was about the time everyone started gathering in the main bar for the evening ghost hunt. We weren’t staying for the investigation, but as mentioned before, Shelly asked that we stay for the speeches prior to the event. We watched her thank everyone for coming, introduce all the guests, and then to our surprise, introduced our group as guests too. It brought tears to our eyes that our emotional connection and love for the Old Baraboo Inn had not gone unnoticed. She asked us in front of everyone what our favorite part of investigating was, and we told the room Mary. We also ensured everyone knew to tip her well. Her time is not cheap, and she definitely knows it.
Shelly started the evening event by showing us a clip from Fright Club, where the guys conducted an interview with BC about the Old Baraboo Inn. There were three different times the paranormal made an appearance, so she walked us through all of those frames. They also showed us evidence of “Paranormal Porn” from the upstairs brothel. Once we finished with BC’s interview, she had the guests come up and speak.
Scotty was the first to come up and talk about BC. He shared the story about BC coming to him in the hospital, as well as sharing with us that BC was his best friend. When Scotty was finished with his speech, he actually left for the evening. Before he left though, he walked back up to our group, gave us a hug, and told us that he loved us (We love you too).
The next to speak was Nick and Aaron. After introducing themselves, they mentioned they could feel how much BC was loved and that they were grateful to be a part of the experience. They began sharing their backgrounds and knowledge of the paranormal. We also got to hear more about their experience with 28-Days Haunted, explaining how Nick had to turn in a 30-day vacation slip to work and which scenes production cut out in terms of useful evidence.
Before we knew it, the speeches were over, and our time to leave had come. Shelly announced a quick break before the investigation, so it was only a matter of minutes before they started heading upstairs. We walked over to her to say our goodbyes, and while she was there, Aaron was too. We hugged Aaron goodbye and joked about Aaron and Nick being our plus one for our next investigation. When we got outside, we said our goodbyes to Matt and Nick. We shook hands, gave hugs, and were on our way back to Wisconsin Rapids.
Our time at the Old Baraboo Inn has been nothing short of magnificent. This place started as one of our first major investigations, and it’s evolved into sitting in a room sharing ideas and evidence with people of the same field. There were at least four paranormal groups (that we knew of), two tarot readers, and a psychic present. BC turned this big, red house into a paranormal community. It truly is one happy family.
To Shelly, Matt, Becky, Mike, and others, there was no better way to honor BC’s life. You were incredible hosts and supporters, and we can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done to maintain the captain's ship. We look forward to seeing all of you again.
To Scotty, Aaron, and Nick, it was a pleasure meeting you and seeing the world through your eyes for a moment. You are spectacular beings, and we hope the Universe allows our paths to cross again in the future.
To BC, you are terribly missed. We saw the building full of people that day. You were loved. And no matter what, we are so happy to have stumbled across your bar that Sunday in October.
We’ll BC ‘n ya.
Thanks for reading.
Supporting Links:
-Cotter, Amelia. Where the Party Never Ended: Ghosts of the Old Baraboo Inn. Haunted Road Media, LLC, 2021.
Pages to Like and Follow on Facebook:
-Old Baraboo Inn
-We Are Paranormal
-Clear Sight Paranormal
-Scotty Rorek
-Aaron G Thompson
-Nick Simons
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